Program switches for mounting on a printed circuit board, in particular program switches embodied as DIP switches (DIP: Dual In-Line Package), are known in many cases from prior public use. Such program switches are embodied here as a unit having a predefined number of switches or poles. Dedicated program switches exist for each number of poles, as a result of which dedicated production tools and separate stock keeping are required for each number of poles. This results in high costs during production. Furthermore, additional costs arise in particular during storage and sale of known program switches having different numbers of poles.